by Alan Gorham
CHRISTMAS seems far from the minds of artists exhibiting in the festive season show at Stonehaven’s Riverside Gallery, which opened yesterday. Now in its 25th year, the Christmas display features 70 works by a wide-ranging group of artists from throughout the north-east.
Principal among those is the increasingly popular Catriona Millar, of Udny, whose sizeable collection fills the gallery’s mezzanine and stairwell.
Ms Millar’s arrival at the event follows her involvement in the Battersea Affordable Art Fair in London, where her work sold out and she secured commissions from parties in Europe. Some of Ms Millar’s works sold within an hour of the exhibition opening yesterday.
“I am delighted by the response I have had already,” said the 2005 Gray’s School of Art graduate.
“And I’m very pleased by the way things have really taken off. My works feature people from the past, as well as interpretations of myself.” Gallery owner Denis Leiper, who has some of his own works in the show, was also enthused by the response. Mearns-based April Pressley, as well as Kirsty Lorenz, Robert McAulay and Jan Clizer, are also represented with several pieces. Works on display range from landscapes to portraits and still life. For more details on the exhibition, which runs until January 31 with a break during the Christmas week, call the gallery on 01569 763931.